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5 thoughts on “The Blind Men and the Elephant, Revisited”

As one who grew up in the south within the Campbell tradition I can look back, with amuzement at myself, at those parts I thought were the whole and holy. But what amuzes me more is my memory of preachers in the tradition (non-instrumental) who used this very illustration to point out how the “denominationalists” did not have the whole picture of the New Testement church.

I treasure my past experience of moving from the “parts of my tradition” to seeing and hearing more. Forgive me for laboring on, but it started after I would be so wound up after preaching 2 services each Sunday (I no longer preach), and I would be up until 3 or 4 am Monday morning listening to church services from different cities on the radio. Let me make it clear that I chose what I listened to with care. At the risk of sounding like I am blowing my own horn, I wanted something intelligent. I wanted to be fed!

That is where I heard someone mention Francis Shaeffer. I started buying his books and reading them as fast as I could. I have moved way beyond Shaeffer now, but I will always be grateful for his writings because they were the first that pushed me to think beyond my tradition.

Since then I have become a student of the writings of others such as Thomas Merton and Edward Shillebeeckx (though I do not claim to be able to grasp everything he says; I have started his book CHRIST about 3 times, only to put it down with the promise of coming back to it later). But it is an exciting challenge.

However, over the last year my only readings, besides the Daily Office, have been the Prophets, the Wisdom books and the Gospels…and my favorite, the Psalms in the KJV. I had a desire to scope the landscape by myself…with God’s help, of course.

Believing a god is just like blind men’s elephant story. Those who could not recognise the truth of this universe tend to believe a god. You can not find a god out side. master your mind to be a human. I surprised why this silly people need a god even to believe that killing is not good. People do lot of sins thinking they are good deeds. Nobody can be devine without eliminating hatred, attachment and ignorance abou the truth of life. Prayers are good for self-deceiving, but useless.

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